The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#1

((OOC allowed. Anyone can join. It is a Vampiric thread. No specific direction planned. Try to refrain from short posts.)).

Standing at the stone ledged window the raven haired and pale skinned creature made a refined character. Her eyes were a contrast between blue and green and her cheeks were highboned and regal. She surveyed the lay of the land under the light of the moon as her mind leapt all physical barriers and travelled far beyond the stone walls of her confines. She was not a prisoner of the congenial sense, but in a way all who lived at Castle Moonloch were prinsoners of some kind. Prisoners of mental, physical incapacity or both. The moon glinted off Moon Loch, that which had given the magnificent stone structure it's name.

She sighed and resigned to lean against a wall opposite the door, waiting for the brazen call of a hunting horn and the flood of people in corridors that always accompanied it. Always the castle felt empty, lone footsteps echoed in it's halls, but when the horn call came they appeared from nowhere, leaching into halls and the grounds as if they had come from the mortar itself. Then she heard it. A long mournful howl of a noise. The horn had been called. She felt the excitement rise to her throat. She didn't care for thinking now and all thoughts of insanity and disgrace faded from her troubled mind. Now only the hunt mattered. She could feel her mouth getting moist as she anticipated the metallic warm liquid. Her eyes seemed to shimmer as they became goldened and almost bird like. Her gums tingled and soon she felt the graze of her own tooth across her lip as she probed at her teeth experimentally with her lip as she always did.

The horn called again and they assembled before the large lake near a small disjointed forest.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#2

OOC:Is it alright with you if I play a demon halfbreed?

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#3

((OOC: Certainly! :D, pretty much anything goes other than futuristic aliens and god like invincibility :D))

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#4

"Dinner time" came Voren's voice. "Come my love, the hunt will begin shortly. I can already smell it". As he came up beside her, his chest rose up, a gesture unrelated to the expansion of the lungs, but the anticipation of the vampiric organ which replaced the lungs usefullness. Unlike the girl beside him, he had no moral inhibitions about the hunt. He was more preoccupied with finding freedom, than questioning the senslessness of hunting this living livestock that was offered before them. It was how the humans dealt with criminals deserving of death. To put them in this God-forsaken castle which, by enchantment, inhibited all within from escaping.
He was even armed to limited degree, but it was never any use.

Voren had been here too long. He was already forgetting what it had once been like to be free. To be alive. But that would soon be changing. He had gotten a message out to to his clan in the north. The Aloden. It should soon reach them. And when it did, every last man in this town would become his spawn.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#5

Bane crashed through the forest undergrowth,panting and wheezing heavily,desparate to elude his pursuers. They had picked up his scent three days ago and had pursued him relentlessly,determined to slay him.

They called themselves the Scourge,those who hunted him. True demons dedicated to stamping out the existance of the halfbreeds,the unfortunate beings borne of stray unions between human and demon kind. The demon blood had to be kept pure,untainted by the taint of weak snivelling humanity. And the foul halfbreeds stood in the way of that. If let unchecked,they would multiply and further dilute the purity of the demon race.

So went the creed of the Scourge,those who would stop at nothing to wipe out the ones that carried their own demon heritage. As ruthless and relentless as a wave of destruction,unable to be halted or diverted. Bane knew what they were capable of. He had seen for himself the savaged corpses of his kin and friends,the little community of outcasts that had been everything to him. And now they were gone,wiped out by the Scourge.

And soon he would be gone too. The truth of this was immovabel and certain,as solid as any rock. A rock that bore down on his soul. They would get him here in this forest,with no one to offer him shelter or sanctuary. As these dark painful thoughts flooded his mind,tears begun to flow down his face. The Miqout and Fyarl demons on his tail would kill him and they would see to it that his death was a slow and painful one. He could be sure of that. The Scourge did not appreciate being led into an elaborate chase that went on for three days with the quarry giving them a difficult time by throwing them off with false trails. Now when they had finally caught up him in this forest,they would inflict terribel vengeance for his defiance.

His body finally begun to halt. Despite the frantic urging of his brain to continue,it couldn't keep up this pace anymore. His exhausted body simply wouldn't put up with it anymore Slumping to the lefy forest floor,he felt panic take over him. ''Somebody help!' he screamed in a vocie that carried for miles around. ''Help!'' Still some distance away,his hunters heard him screaming and begun to taunt him. ''It's uselss,halfbreed'',the Miqout begun to cackle. ''No one's here to save your mongrel arse!'' His friend,the hulking Fyarl, gave a a beastial snigger,anticipating the delightful slaughter that awaited them.

It was finally over then,his mind found itself accepting,with the serenity that comes with certain death. Finally over....

(OOC: Just so you know. Miqout demon; Yellow-skinned demon with spiny ridges on top of his head and long, serrated, green darts in his forearms. Fyarl demon: a large, hairy species with horns like a bull. They also have a paralyzing mucous that shoots out through the nose, and aren't known for their intelligence or self-initiative.)

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#6

"Demons? Here? What luck! Move now!"cried Nathan to the fifty members of The White Glove. They were all demon slayers. Actually, they hunted vampires and other unholy forms as well, but they specialized as demon hunters.

They were on the scene in moments. Thirty Knights, fifteen Clerics, and five Paladins, all of the highest order. Two days ago they had numbered seventy.

Nathan, the leader of this particular group of the order spoke. He always hated having to give such unholy abominations of God the same rights as a human, but for some reason, the leader of the White Glove, Oricalcos Dividon, insisted upon it.

"We are the order of The White Glove, and you, demons, have been granted the opportunity to surrender. If you come willingly you will be imprisoned in Moon Loch Castle for the rest of eternity. If you resist, then we will destroy you by any means needed."

He awaited a reply.

OOC: These are in fact demon slayers, so while i am not aquainted with the strengths and weaknesses of your PC's and NPC's you can be assured that these men would be, and would also be prepared to exploit every one of them. I don't particularily have any intentional direction with this, and i leave it mostly up to you, but if you want the order to be defeated (so that you'r demon can run away in the conflict) then make sure you have at least ten demons to do it with. Demon slayers don't live by being cannon fodder.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#7

Staring absently into the shining water of the Loch she liked her lips in anticipation. The reason for always keeping them waiting so long was unknown. She had entertained many thoughts on the matter as night by night they stood by the waters edge. She had come to wrap her resolve firmly about the belief that it was punishment to both the hunters and the hunted. A redundant cause as eventually all got what they sought. Some nutrition and some the escape they so desired for the wrong doings they had caused. But some would run, and even prepare to fight. She denied herself to believe it was these hunts she preferred. Sometimes passing one who waited quietly eyes downward to pursue one who would fight, one who would make her earn her meal and somehow errode some of the shame from her doings. She had lived far too long among humans before she had been imprisoned in Moonloch she knew. Far too often she felt the morals of humanity clouding her thoughts and dictating her actions.

Hunter she had been named by her father. He had deigned on having a son but not to be dissuaded named his daughter with the name he had chosen for his son. It had at least been a point of interest with humans and a source of humour in the vampiric circles.

Suddenly the man raised a hand and her mind made the connection with gesture though her thoughts lingered in the past when her freedom had been unquestioned. She shook herself mentally however and brought herself back to reality. "Hunt Nightwalkers" he said grimly as if they were mere dogs only capable of simple instructions.

She looked around and watched as everyone began to move off. She kept pace easily her eyes scouring the crowd for some she had run with before.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#8

The dramatic appearance of fifty humans who had seemingly materialized from the very air,caught both Bane and his would be killers by shock. Lying sprawled in the shadows,forgotten now in this new confusion,Bane watched goggled eyed as the humans quickly surrounded the two hunters of the Scourge and called on them to surrender.

He was saved. Saved. This thought sprung unbidden and rose to overwhelm him before his conscious mind could even process the sudden turn of events he had just witnessed. Yes,he was saved indeed. The fanatics would deal with these minions of the Scourge,leaving Bane free to live. All he had to do was wait till the stand-off was resloved one way or the other(hopefully it would end with his erstwhile tormentors being killed) and everyone involved left. He doubted that the demon slayers would be kindly disposed to half-breeds either. No,he would stay safely hidden until they left. Then he would find his way out of this wretched forest. And then what? He had nowhere to go. His loved ones were all dead. What was the point of continuing to run? They would find him one day and kill him. They always did...

No! He had not time for these self-destructive thoughts . Right now,he had to pull himself together and concentrate on living through this night. He could worry about his murky future later.

A bellowing roar form the Fyarl demon shook him out of his thoughts. Raising his head,he could see the brute gnashing his jagged teeth in murderous rage at those who stood betweeh him and his quarry. ''Human apes! One day,you too will be purged! Demons will take back what was theirs!'' His companion,the Miqout demon,by contrast,opted for silence. It was very easy to see what he was thinking. When the Fyarl charged the humans,he would make good his escape. They would never find the yellow demon in the dark depths of the forest.

With another deafening bellow,the Fyarl sprung on the arrogant leader of the humans who had dared to demand that a warrior of the Scourge surrender and avenged the insult done to him by ripping off the human's head in a hot spray of blood. He was strong and fast. Even as a cleric rushed towards the fiend that had just slain their leader and begun to wave his hands in the air and chant,trying to call forth a spell,the hulking ceature turned it's head in his direction and exhaled noisily through it's gaping nostrils. A thick viscous strand of a green muck shot out and covered the cleric,just as he was about to speak the final word of the spell . The unfortunate man froze instantly,his muscles sucumbbing to the potent paralyzing effect of the mucus the Fyarl demon had drenched him with. Meanwhile,just as Bane had predicted,the Miquot demon broke into a run,hoping to elude the attention of the demon slayers while they were engaged fighting his big friend.

(OOC:The Fyarl demon is not invincibel in any way. Though possesed of super human strength and speed,a large group of trained demon hunters should be able to bring him down quickly. But if they are to catch the Miqot demon,they must be fast. Miquots move quickly when they have to.)

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#9

Fearno watched the battle from a tree not far away, his pointed ears picked up the fading footsteps of the other demon, with a surge he had found a meal. His paws picking up speed he tracked the fast demon by the sulfurous stench about it, it stank of the unnatural nothing in the forest that lived was quit like it. His canines ached to rip and render the flesh, his tongue sagged with the wolfish pleasure of the hunt.

His large yellow eyes focused on the demon, as it scampred through the forest leaving a highway of broken twigs, tuffs of flesh and hair, bent blades of grass. It did not know the forest walk. The demons odd yellow darts sparkled in the moonlight and just when it slowed down thinking it was safe Fearno struck. His canines rippped and tore the soft flesh of the demons neck, he wolfed down half it's throat in a bite. He brought up his front paws, for the first time the sharp claws visible they ripped into the demon's soft belly spilling it's gut on the forest floor. With a final yank and rip Fearno snapped it's neck. The demon was dead.

In pride of his kill, he tilted his head back and let a long loud wolf's howl pierce the night. Blood covered his gray white fur, he would have to wash in a stream later. For now he feasted on the demon's tangy flesh. With the meal done he headed off to the into the dark. A scent of death filled his nose, a vampire, a woman was hunting. For followed her smell of flowered death, he liked to watch others on the hunt.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#10

Hunter walked under the foliage of the trees, letting the moons filtered light dapple her skin in strange mottled complexions, her golden eyes translating every compression in the damp earth and ever snappecd twig. Soon she had hooked herself up with a consistent trail. The man had been bleeding. The bloodloss had been miniscule, perhaps a mere scratch from a thorn, but the warm and metallic scent that lingered was quantiful in comparison. She licked her lips in desire of her meal. Somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind she knew that the hunt was organised, prepared like meat for the strange creatures they kept in travelling fairs.

Suddenly she stiffened. She had heard something, and not her prey. Another aura floated about the trees. she looked around like a sprung animal but seeing nothing ignored her first impulse and continued onwards. The man's steps had become more and more deeply ground in the earth, he was panicing, wasting valuable energy in trying to outrun her. "Stupid" she said softly into the night. She could almost hear his rasping breaths now, and her eyes became dilated as she moved onwardms more quickly.

The man had held himself against the trunk of a tree, panting with ragged sobs. "It is not self-respecting to cry in the face of death" she announced to him. "What would you know about self-respect?" he threw back her startling her with his obstinance. "You have obviously done something ro you would not be in th eposition you find yourself in" Hunter replied unrelenting in her gaze as she minced closer to him. The man gulped and his admads apple bobbed up and down. It excited her as she stared at his neck, knowing the warm blood floated through his arteries, sweet as the most ancient wine and thick and nourishing. She smiled grimly. The man watched her planting himself more firmly against the tree. She had reached him now and stood opposite him her tongue caressing the tips of her fangs.

"Get it over with". "Do not rush me..." she said quietly. "You should know to die from a vampire bite is euphoric and you will feel little pain...lest I wish to cause it" she added innocently in a tone of play her eyes unashamed in their vigilant stare. The man gulped again and frowned. "I repent for my sins, I wish I could take them back". "Why tell me?" she mused stepping closer and laying a hand against his chest and pushing his head to one side like one might a consenting lover.

She smiled them and smelled his neck. It was not unpleasant and her mouth opened instinctively as she kissed down his neck satisfying her own insatiable lust for blood. He gave one last shuddered sob before she bit into his neck releasing his life force and drinking until she could drink no more. She dropped him when she was done, the exertion of holding him pinned against the tree tiring, though the blood renewed her vigour. His body slumped unnaturally at the base of the tree, awaiting for the Carrion, as they were nicknamed. Those who disposed of the bodies after the hunt.

Turning she heard the noise she had heard earlier. She looked keenly into the vegetation. A faint sound of speech could be heard on the night air and curious she was allured to it. But then the horn called..."That dratted horn, as if we were dogs" she stated angrily as she began to forger her way back to the castle, forced to forget the noises she had heard.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#11

Fearno followed the vampiress the kill had been quite entertaining he found it commical and romantic the way the vampire looked like she was making love to her prey. The smell of the man was one of lifelessnes, he knew to stay away from the flesh drained of blood, it was tainted by the vampire, for his Lycan blood to mix with hers would be death in seconds or so that was what the Lore Master of the Pack had always said but Fearno had never really obeyed the rules perhaps that was why he was a Lone Wolf now. A rogue forever hunted by both kinds, it suited him fine to have his way and be against the world and than conform with the world and have friends.

His yellow eyes picked up the contours of the vampiriess's face and he could see the look of resignation as she returned to the horn's beck like a trained mutt. Ferano wondered what creature held such sway over a vampiress such as this one. The power emanated from her like a large splash in a peaceful pond, Fearno decided to investagte.

Another vampire was returning from not far off, this one was weak, he did not make his kill, he had not fed on the prey's blood, and he was unaware. When Fearno took him down he did not cry nor fight as Fearno's jaws broke his neck without drawing too much blood, a mere sigh escaped him and he went into the deep sleep of vampires.

Fearno willed himself to his manform, a painful experiance that he had not done in such a long time that it was like fresh pain. It had been a long time since he walked on two legs and wore clothes, fashions and styles had changed even among the vampires. He dressed in the vampire's clothes, it would not need them any more. He drifted off catching up with the vampiress and shadowing her to the castle. Fearno had long dark hair like the other man, and had stuble of a man who had not shaved, but his skin was a ruddy olive and his cheeks were red with an inner glow. With the blood on the front of his shirt, he could simply explain it of having fed well on his prey. Fearno fell into pace next to the vampiress as she trudged back to the castle, he would let her realize he was there before he spoke.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#12

Hunter heard the soft footsteps beside her and she looked sideways at the long haired man padding along like a cat not particuarly caring if he were noticed. She acknowledged him, raising one eyebrow and dipping her head. She did not recognise his face, but then she was no socialite so it did not come as a shock that she did not find his face familiar. She had noted the dark red stain on his shirt from his feeding. She herself was spotless, and any run off from her mouth she had scrupulously cleaned before leaving the forest. When she returned home she would look into the mirror and convince herself that she had never killed another, drank anothers blood. It was a ritual she would commence each night after a hunt. Soon she would fall asleep, calmed by her self-hypnotic ritual and she would wake the previous nights actions no more than a faded and washed out dream. Of course deep down her brain and primal lust for blood registered they were true but her conscience would not.

Even so she was surrounded by a quietly dark aura. It resonated even more so with non-human lifeforms and even fellow vampires felt the increased power that she could weild if only she would accept her dominion over it. She was a hunter, both by nature and by name, but she called herself differently in her minds voice.

As they neared the castle dark figures become apparant as mnay walked back to their fortified hold that was designed to keep them in, rather than keep others out. Hunter could easily distinguish between those that had fed and those that hadn't. Some that hadn't fed in several days would die, but none would mourn their passing. It was due to their own weakness and lack of ability that they should fare so. This small complication, unlike the hunting of criminal humans did not preturb her so much, and often she would see the pyres residual smoke in the air after sunset long since the fires had burnt with a numbness that could not conceive of grief.

As they passed the Loch one vampire stumbled only a meter from her. She glanced mildly in his direction then passed on. Her eyes burned with a fierce intensity that supressed any thoughts of scorn from her fellow vampires that knew she despised the violence their life depended upon to survive. But then they did not know her true thoughts.

It was not so much the violence she despised as the pure dependancy on others. Here in this prison they were dependent upon the humans for their prey. If the humans decided they were not worth it they would die of malnutrition. For all their strength vampires require a weak constitution when it comes to being deprived of sustinance.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#13

It wasn't long before Bane changed his mind about remaining where he was. Some of the demon hunters had begun to fire arrows and other missiles at the Fyarl that was cutting a bloody swath through their ranks. Oh,sure it was as good as dead. There wasn't the demon alive that could fight and defeat fitfy demon hunters and come out of it alive. But it seemd determined to send quite a few of it's foes to pave the road ahead for it. And that was making the demon slayers very liberal with their arrows. If he didn't move out of arrow range,one just might hit him.

Well,time to move. In the midst of the fierce battle that raged,none noticed a slight figure emerge from the shadows and then start sprinting into the moonlight. Bane hoped it would stay that way. A little while later,he finally stopped running as he reached a little clearing. Bane begun to relax and leaned back against the trunk of a gnarled beech. He was in no immediate danger now. The Fyarl demon would not be alive to hunt him any longer and his friend the Miqout,would be too busy fleeing the demon slayers to pursue his own prey.

Then the long keening sound of a horn cut across the silent night sky. Bane shuddered. That was a hunting horn. A hunt was afoot tonight,naturally. And he could only hope that he was not the quarry.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#14

Fearno watch quietly as many vampires appeared from the woods, most of them were almost an alabastor white from the lack fo feeding on the blood of humans, if he had became a Wolf here he wondered if they could stop him from killing them all. The woman might of he supposed but there was a certaion reluctance in the way she walked and the way she glared at the others so they would not set upon the fallen body of one of the vampires. Another Vampire weakness was sunlight, Lycans had been able to walk among the sun, and while full moon made the newly bitten loose utter control of themselves the older you became the more control you had of your animal form. Fearno was old enough to have conscious thought as a wolf, and he had developed differently since being banished from the pack. He had grown with independance, life lacked companionship, and while killing seemed to clout his feelings for a while the loniness always came back.

Together they continued to the castle, Fearno making observations, until they were inside walking down dark corridors and earthy hallways. When the final vampire split off from the group Fearno turned his head to the vampiress, "Why do you stay here?"

He did not much mind being found out, he doubted the vampires had the strength to stop his wolf form and any of those that did seemed to not care enough to try. Life lacked motivation, the castle stank of conformtity. It's prisoners going through the motions each evening like undead corpses under the puppet strings of a necromancer.

His question hung in the air, and for this first time when Fearno looked at her she could see his eyes were a chestnut color that was decidingly close to human. That olive complextion he had a vampire couldn't attaing ever even should he feed on ten corpses in a night.

If there was one thing Fearno hated about the human form it was the lack of smell, he could not pick up the subtle scents given off by emotion, or the slight traces of perfume that made up a woman, a human nose lacked so much he wondered how they could stand sometimes. His vision was almost as good as it was in his wolf form and his hearing about the same, but the smells that colored the world without them this life seemed black and white. Yet he aslo felt something different, through his skin he coudl feel the humidity in the earthen corridors, the chill against his fignertips, the softness of the vampiresses skin, or the texture of her clothes. He let his hand drop back down, and waited for her to answer his question.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#15

By the time the Fyarl had defeated Nathan, a cleric, and three knights, he found himself hoplessly trapped in fourteen circles of light, preventing movement of any kind. Meanwhile, the Paladins were quickly going about reviving those who had been killed. The Order was especially dangerous because they all wore sould stones, an item which would prevent death as long as a Paladin could revive them quickly enough.

The fyarl should never have gotten as far as it did, but without the order that Nathan was accustomed to bringing about, they did not last long. Nathan sensed the other unholy being on the run. One had already escaped, he would not let this one leave. The Paladins all cast their spells of destruction, and the fyarl was gone. Nothing more than ashes on the ground.

In seconds they were after the demon. All on horseback, they would catch him unless he reached moonloch castle first. If he did, then none of it would matter anyway.

......................................................................................................

Voren returned from the hunt. Blood now coursed its way through him. It was a good meal and a large man. He had even trapped some in a bottle for later. It was a trade secret, and Voren had survived many late dinners because of it. His breed needed more constant supplies of energy. Although they were faster and stronger than most other breeds, they needed more energy as well.

He stopped. He smelled something on the wind. It was a wolf. Voren was fine with that, but new wolves were usually hostile and needed to be broken in....one way or another.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#16

Hunter glanced at him with narrowed eyes, "We stay because we must, or has no one given you the introductory package?" she said raising an eyebrow cynically. She continued walking to her room but indicated he could follow if he wished. She walked into the room, a fire burned needlessly in the darkness casting red light over a grand wooden bed and a desk to one side of the room, that remained perfectly sterile as if it had never been used. One window penetrated the southern most wall as it looked over the Loch and Forest. She stood by this window as she proceeded to talk, "You are not a vampire" she surmised. "And yet you lack the fear that most would emanate if they were to enter our grounds during the night hours, let alone the hive in which we have all returned to" she raised her arms gesturing to the Castle around them. "You either have nothing to fear, or perhaps you are a fool who does not fear because he does not see reason" she stated mechanically.

"As for why we do not leave here" she began her eyes still making the transformation to their natural green/blue "We cannot leave here. There is an energy barrier that imitates the suns rays. It would not affect most, but as a vampire it is near impenetrable. I assume there must be a large many who provide the magic for it's construction and should we find them and put an end to their spell weaving we would be free...But until then" she shrugged. She walked to the bed and sat down. "Now...Perhaps you will share what reasoning brought you here?".

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#17

Fearno, followed her into a room that obviously was hers yet did't seem to be lived in. She stood by the window and gazed out longingly before asking her own questions first. Fearno smiled a little as she interogated his level of interligance and explained her predicament.

"I have been around the world along time I've seen the powerful fall and the usupers rise in their place." Fearno sat down on the bed beside the Huntress. "You're right I'm not a vampire, I'm a Lycan.. I mean Lone Wolf. My pack threw me out. And for why I'm here in the dreay Castle insteading of exploring the world with my freedom. Well I've seen enough of the world, so now I wander, my life has no purpose. The last time I became human..." Fearno's eyes glazed for a second with memory.

"Was a long time ago. Your problem is interesting, the humans grow like over fat cattle around here, they are over confident. Perhaps I'm jsut looking for adventure, but I want to help you. Fearno is the name."

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#18

Bane sighed. He wasn't going to find his way out of this forest any time soon,at least not without help. He might as well search for some settlement where shelter and food woudl be offered.

With this in mind,he begun scanning the forest gloom surrounding him. The dark would have been as thick and and impenatrable as a dark blanket to human eyes,but Bane could see as clearly as it were day. One of the few good things that half demons had going for them,he reflected,giving a little wry smile. Special gifts and abilities that most normal humans lacked. With luck,he would be able to find a place of shelter if there was one to be seen.

He did. To his right,he could see a series of bright orange lights blazing against the backdrop of a huge stone mass. Obviously a keep of some kind. He would find shelter and food there,he was sure. Unlikely that the residents would know him for what he was. Who would think there was vaugely anything demonic about a small brown skinned man who looked as if he would keel over any moment from exertion and fright? He looked as human as any ordinary mortal. And sometimes,he believed he was. It was self-deception ultimately,he knew,but their demon heritage was something that he and the rest of his kindred had rarely thought about. As far as they were concerned,they were humans,outcasts thought they may have been among mankind.

But the demon would find ways of manifesting itself. It always did. The urge to tear and rend flesh and soul would come upon his mind with a brutal suddeness,washing away the human core of his being. And with it,came the changes. Ugly physcial changes that would horrify anyone that wasn't aware of what he was. He would have to see to it that no changes came upon him tonight when he sought refuge from this dark hostile palce. It wouldn't do to bring the demon slayers down on him like a hawk of destruction. They were obviously very active in this place,those fanatics of light. As ruthless as the Scourge in their zeal. A human version really,despite the fact that the two organizations were at opposite ends of the race divide. Some human weren't really that much better than demons when one considered them closely.

Enough thinking for now. It was time for the long trek to the keep. Keeping the blazing fire of the keep's lights firmly in his sight,he soon arrived at it's giant wooden gates. In the orange glow cast down by the torches placed near the windows on the upper levels,it looked like some vast sinister monster waiting to open it's jaws and swallow him. Irritably,he shook his head to drive that thought away. Now was certainly not the time to let his imagination to run away with him. Adopting the supplicating posture of a mendicant,he walked up to the looming gates and begun to rap on them smartly. ''Greetings! Is there any shelter here for a weary traveller in need of some hospitality?''

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#19

None came to open the gates, and the courtyard within remained silent. An eerie yet strong wind pushed roughly against the bars in passing causing a small wicker gate to one side to rustily swing in and out like an invitation to the half-demon. Yet no one came to see who had rapped the bars so commandingly. Silouhettes against the windows manifested themselves into eerily contorted shapes as candle light and fire light flikcered in and out with the respiration of the wind through castle passages and windows.

Hunter looked at Fearno calculatingly. "You wish to aide me?" she asked surprise and a little untrust eveident in her tone. "There have been revolts before. Because of our manner of entrapment if we try anything, the humans have the power to cut off the food supply...we would starve or die trying to pass their boundaries". She began. But then stopped. "You were going to say something about the last time you morphed...". She watched him carefully.

"Come for a walk...It would be better to talk where ears are not listening. The humans have their lapdogs implanted here too" she said walking to her door and cutting her way to a staircase and descending it and leading them out a side exit into a cobbled courtyard. The door closed hollowly behind them. The gates were several good feet from them but Hunter's eyes seemed to dilate like a cat's as she looked in it's direction.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#20

"Come for a walk...It would be better to talk where ears are not listening. The humans have their lapdogs implanted here too"

Fearno walked with quietly thinking about the puzzle they were in. Humans had grown greatly over their boundaries. It was not the natural order of things, not the way life worked. The humans were not the pinnacle of the food chain they never have been and never will.

"You have never tried at night?" Fearno wondered, he had to gather his thoughts about the past, it had been such a long time ago. Fearno gazed up at the stars above. The Lycans had not traveled this far in a long time, many feared this Castle too much, but it wasn't a stronghold of vampires it was their prison.

A slight moan escaped his lips, then his mouth jutted out, dark grey and white fur sprouted all over his body. The pant legs around his body burts and the shirt ripped. He fell forward on too all fours, his rear legs reversed direction so they were a wolf's legs. Then the transformation was finished.

It was like seeing in color again, he could smell all the scents there were, he could hear with a refinement so great he heard the heart beat of the man outisde the gates. Fearno gave a quiet bark, and paced around the courtyard. Before he came to a rest with his head cocked to the side and sitting there in an ever so human style. Then in the shadows, Fearno became man again and he sat there on the bench, naked, yet he had lost fears about exposure long ago.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#21

Hunter watched the transformation take place with the quiet calm of an expert scholar, as if watching it could somehow teach her to do the same. She looked to the gate he barked at realising that the feeling that someone was there waas no doubt truthful. She took off the clak she wore and threw it to Fearno. "Here, I will see what is at the gate". She walked towards it confidently her steps light yet determined.

"Good evening" she said to the pitiful looking traveller. At the same time she was using all her strength and will to repress her vampiric tendancy, she glanced to his exposed neck and could not help but repress a shudder of slight excitement and memories of the thrill of the hunt. But she held it back welll, and all the traveller may have noticed was the slight twitch of her mouth as she smiled. "Do you seek shelter for the night?" she demanded her voice strong. She knew they had no food in the castle, for what would a vampire do with the nutritionless stodge most humans ate. She herself had eaten food only when appearance's sake had dictated but since being banished here had eaten only blood, something she knew had only made her instincts stronger and harder to ignore.

She looked over her shoulder towards the shadows and Fearno who still sat on the bench shrouded in her cloak.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#22

Fearno wrapped up in the cloak and walked over to examine the new comer wondering perhaps what he was. His nose had caught a whiff of something foreign before he became human.

Fearno walked and stood with the hunter whose name he still did not know, she seemed to keep to herself very much.

Ahh Fate has broght us together...

Coincidences like this never happen, no something is in the works I cann feel the stars move and the centaurs stir. Destiny has something stirring in the near future.

Fearno offered a hand to the tired fellow, "Come on, let's get you something of provisions."

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#23

''Ah,thank you,my lord.'' Bane gave a grateful smile and accepted the handsome man's outstreched hand. ''For a moment,I'd wondered if everyone in the keep was asleep. And if that was indeed the case,then I am deeply sorry for having woken you from your sleep. ''Truly,my lord and lady'' and he gave a little bow in the direction of the strikingly beautiful dark haired woman who had opened the gates,before continuing ''it was most kind of you to open your doors to a stranger. From what I have seen thus far,this is a place that hardly serves to inspire feelings of security and yet you were brave enough to welcome me.''

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#24

Hunter raised an eyebrow smiling politely. "There are many within, but it is imperative we do not wake them" she said looking at him specutatively. "Some have a rather...gruesome...demeanor if woken abruptly".

She looked up to her own room, whose firelight flickered dimly. "Shall we?" she said taking a step forward and gesturing towards the doors. She opened them, the rust once more grinding cruelly against their eardrums. She ushered them through, sharing a glance with Fearno.

Walking them through the passages they encountered no problems. Should she be seen with them she was sure she could hold her own against several of the others, but if her competition grew too large in number she knew she too would fall with the newcomers. She led them to her room pushing open the wooden door and the closing it firmly behind her, securing it with a simple latch system that any could unlock from the inside.

"as you have shared your name, I should introduce myself" she said softly. "I am Hunter Braebuck. I realise my first name is of the male persuasion but my father was a stubborn man" she finished walking to the fire to add another log of dry wood.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#25

Fearno exchaned a glance with the woman before she introduced herself as Hunter in her chamber. He watched the other man quietly wondering quite how the man had strayed so far out here.

"It's a good name, very true." Fearno spoke softly.

Fearno looked intently at Hunter, "Do you know of any way that charm you spoke of can be broken?"

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#26

Hunter shook her head, her eyes gazing into the depths of the fire before turning back to Fearno and answering his question verbally. "No, but then I have never thought much on the topic, it seemed irrelevant at the time". She looked at the stranger and wondered if their talk should be paraded before him so. She glanced a him several times in quick succession as if trying to refrain from being rude, but needing to gather as much information from him as she could. "You are not quite the tired traveller you seek to imitate are you" she asked him. His eyes seemed to hold a secret presence and though his back stooped, it looked a position adopted through want, not through need.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#27

''Beg your pardon,lady?'' Bane stammered,taken aback by the sudden questioning tone of her voice. ''I assure you that I am what I claim to be,a humble wayfarer seeing shelter and if possible,a guide to show me out of this dank forest the next day. Really,you have no need to fear or suspect my motives for coming here in any way.''

He spread his arms sideways,indicating that he was willing to be searched. ''If you fear that I conceal any kind of weapon on my person,you are welcome to look for it. As for your cryptic discussion with your lord,I did not understand a single word of it,nor do I care to. All I want,is refuge from the dangers that lurk in the forest outside.''

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#28

Fearno looked at the self proclaimed weay traveler, this man really is dumb as he sounds or quite clever which would make him quite dangerous. Even the mortals should feel the taint of this place, the utter lack of will to live is frightening, death seems to have to come Earth in this placee. Yet as he gazed at Hunter she was different from the others, the spark of life still brightly lit her face.

If I have enough to time to scrounge up some clues tomorrow while these vampires sleep then perhaps I can figure out who has a hold on this place. Arrogant humans... weakest of all the walking lifeforms yet think they are the greatest.

"Perhaps you are what you say you are. I fear for you my friend there will not be many awake by the day to help you on your quest. You look weary perhaps he should stay a couple days if the dangers are not to great?" He asked in turn the mysterious traveller and Hunter.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#29

Bane gave a thin little smile. ''I would not wish to impose myself on both of you and become a burden on your hospitality. Leaving the next morning will be fine with me,guide or no guide. I'm sure I will be able to find my own way out evantually.

This dank gloomy place was begining to get under his skin. Yes,he had cautioned himself against letting his imagination get the better of him. But his suspicions were begining to take shape and the worst part of it was that they were not entirely unwarranted. The strange warning of the lady of the keep,came flashing back to his mind again. Do not awaken those who slumber. And the lord had told him that there would be none to guide him out of this foul forest in the morning. Yes,there was certainly something very untoward about the inhabitants of this keep.

Then the truth struck him like an enarged bull. Gods in heaven and hell be damned. Could he have stumbled into a nest of the undead? Why else the aversion to sunlight. Desparately,he shot a look at the lady. That pale skin,so pale with not a hint of living flush in it.... Gods,why had he not recognized this before? Was he was doomed to end his life in this nest of murderous blood draining killers? To escape the Scourge,but only to fall into the hands of these foul things was a cruel irony. Vampire. Even holding the word in his mind made him cringe. They were abombinations,even for demons that shunned them as such. A demon animating the human flesh,creating beings that were the utimate mockery to both races. If he was to survive these deadky killers,he had to show no sign of having recognized the residents of this keep for what they truly were. That was the human half of him thinking. But the demon half,the cursed inheritance his sire had left him,it itched for a fight.

Come now,that vicious voice insisted. Surely you can take on those leeches? There are just two of them and they must be weak like the the rest of their parsitical kind. Certainly weaker than the two warriros of the Scourge who pursued you. Weaker than a demon such as yourself. Yes,for you are a demon,regardless of hard you try to deny your heritage. Embrace that noble blood now. Make it proud. Overpower and bind the two who stand before you. Leave them out for the deadly rays of the sun to destroy as it rises the next day. Hear their final screams of helpess pain and terror as their fesh becomes dust and savour them ...

Clenching his teeth,he forced that hateful presence from his mind. He had to ignore that foul part of him. If he was not strong enough to fight it off,it would lead him to death. Forcing a smile,he turned to the male vampire and said tightly ''I am afflicted by most frightful headaches,my lord. They strike without warning and are sometimes unendurable.''

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#30

Hunter watched him curiously. His thoughts though not readable were obviously conflicting. She herself was not new to that experience and to be able to read it in another was simple. She moved listlessly about the room brushing back strands of hair from her face every few minutes or so. "If you plan to leave in the morning, you must take the same door we took to get in" she said watching him critically. "If you take any other you run the chance of meeting up with some of Moonloch Castle's...security" she said finishing her sentence warily. She looked out of the window. She thumped the carved stone windowsill aggitatedly. "I am sick of all this pretence" she muttered incoherently to herself. She sighed deeply before facing them again. "Perhaps Fearno" she said thinking, "It would be wise for you to leave with this wayfarer?" she asked him thinking of the situation as it was. Enough death happened here in these grounds without it getting out of control.

She still had a slight tingling about the traveller and her vampiric senses would not let her forget it easily. He may have no concealable weapon but there was definately something about him.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#31

Fearno raised an eyebrow, security here? He smiled a toothy grin, he wanted to laugh out loud. The man thought I was a vampire, perhaps he did not get a good look at my complextion. The darkness of my skin should have made it obvious that I was not vampire but then again not everoyne is knowledgeable on things like this.

"Perhaps I will but I rather enjoy the company here." And my stomach growls to meet this human who controls this castle and embrace his inards and flesh in my jaws.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#32

Bane was confused. So the male blood sucker was not master of the castle,after all?

Clearing his throat,he decided to find out the identity of the lord who ran this place ''If I may be so bold to inquire,who is the lord of these holdings,lady?'',he asked the vampiress courteously.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#33

Raising a wary eyebrow she did not answer right away but seemed to muse on the question. "Why would you presume there is such a person?" she asked him plainly as she stared at him boldly her eyes appearing to try and analyse him further. Finally she laughed, a sound that brought forth no real mirth, for it was sarcastic and condeming in tone.

"Each individual that lives here rules himself or herself. There is no residing Lord or for that matter Lady" she announced loudly. "Though on this occasion perhaps I should appoint myself temporarily with the mantle of leadership, for I doubt you would much like the attitude of some of the others. But I see it is clear you already dislike me for whatever reason you have decided upon". Her cheeks had become flushed in her pursuit for the correct words and yet also the niggling voice in the back of her mind that tried to persuade her to feed.

The colour of her eyes had begun their residual change though she held back against her natural instincts strongly. She looked to Fearno who being familiar with the habits of vampires knew the internal moral conflict she was now facing as she looked upon the 'traveller' as both prey and the neutral passer by he most surely would have been should she have been human. She turned away from them walking to the window. She noted the the darkness of night was fading and within a few hours dawn would arise. Sighing she closed the wooden shutters and drew the heavy velvet curtains across the window before facing them again. She indicated two low profile lounges against one wall, their fabric seemed surprisingly new for the obvious age of the furniture. "You two may sleep there". She took the blankets off her bed leaving only one bottom sheet on it. "Here" she said passing them a blanket apiece. Then with little ceremony she walked to a small chest of drawers to one side and pulled several peices of clothing out of it. She changed behind a wicker screen then walked back to the bed. She looked at it, examining it closely before lying down on it on her back.

Sleep would not come eas she knew as she lay her hands palms down either side of herself. She had cut the conversation short so that there were no replies, and now the possible retorts flooded her mind. The fire crackled companionably in one corner and yet it did nothing to relax her troubled mind and restless body.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#34

I tried to give Hunter my best sympatthetic smile yet it seemed she had lost herself in the gloom of the moral conflict. I had been bitten and turned into a Lycan when I was but thirtteen a time long forgotten. Even now I found myself on days passing up human prey in favor of something that would let my conscious rest easy at night. Vampires did not even have that choice.

Hunter disappeared behind a screen and changed into some clothes for sleeping. I had abandoned sleeping as a human long ago it was simply too easy for someone to sneak up on you.

"Do you mind turning around for a second fellow." I asked, turning without watching to see whether he complied or not. I didn't feel like waiting on him and I had long gotten over being arroused be nudity alone. I stripped off the cloak Hunter had given me, folded it and set it on a china table at my side.

With an almost silent moan my body shifted. My legs revered I feel foward one onto my hands with rapidly shrank forminthe my paws. Long grey white fur sprouted all over my body and my tail grew back, it was long and shaggy also. In a minute the change was over, I could do it faster, but a slow transformation was less draining. I padded over to the blanket and curled up on the floor with it in the middle of the room. I gave a slight yip as I snuggled into the blanket, then cured up with my snout and tail almost touching. With out another sound my flittered about the room before I closed them and let myself fall into a deceiving light sleep.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#35

''Of course,my lord.'' With these words,Bane turned his back,tensing his body to run. Now was the moment he would find himself struggling with the fiend for his life. It was something that he did not look forward to. But to his astonishment,he did not feel a pair of fangs descend on the back of his neck. Ws the thing planning to toy with him? With a defiant cry on his lips,he spun around,convinced that the male vampire was lurking somewhere,waiting for him to loose his nerve before it pounced on him like a great cat hunting it's prey.

There was a wolf curled up on the blanket,a giant grey furred monster. '' So it is true.'' Bane whispered. ''You vampires can turn yourselves into wolves. What about bats? Is your lady planning to swoop down on my throat as a bat and drain me dry,fiend?''

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#36

Hunter turned her head to the side at the man's snide comment. "It would be foolish to think all vampires possess those powers. Some of the higher breeds have them, not all. And" she added coldly, "Had i wanted to drink your blood half breed I would have already done so". She turned her face back up the ceiling. "You cannot hide much from those who look past the living flesh. I am not a mindless killer" she said sitting up suddenly and looking at him, using this as a chance to convince both herself and the stranger. "I am not comforted by the knowledge that I must kill to live". Her voice had faded somewhat. "Can you admit you have never killed?" she asked him darkly. "Because one life is not less than twenty lives, you have already bloodied your hands" she said standing up no longer able to sleep, her own inner fury heating her cheeks.

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#37

I though the conversation was done and sleep would be welcome but apparently before he settle further the human that stank of demonic blood had to open in his trap. I spoke but all that came out was a snarl and growl, I let myself slide back into my human form. This time rather quickly, and I would probably have to sleep human I was getting pretty drained now.

"Listen idiot none of us are pure here, and I would like you to know that I am a Lycan, more commonly called a werewolf, not a vampire. I have much esteem for my nocturnal collegue, and if you had any sense about you, you'd show a little more respect to your elders."

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#38

'' A were wolf.'',Bane said slowly,with some suprise evident in his voice.'' I thought your kind were extinct. You lycans consort with vampires,then? Funny. Those writings that I have read on the fiends that walk this earth,gave me the idea that lycans and vampires held each other in mutual disdain. My thanks to you for enlightening me on that score.''

Then turning his head to her, Bane flashed the vampiress a pleasant mile. ''You are very perceptive,lady. What was it precisely,that allowed you to dig out the seceret that my father was a Chaos demon? Mind reading? T'is not good manners to snoop through the private thoughts and memories that the mind of another holds. But I shall be so kind as to forgive you for that little intrusion. Coming to a more important matter,what is it that the you and your furry friend plan on doing to me? I beg your pardon for for sounding suspicious and even a little hostile,but neither vampires or were wolves are known for their compassion.''

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#39

"And perhaps you will forgive me for my stereotypical thoughts about demons, after all I have not seen them in the spotlight for their good deeds or angelic demeanour" Hunter replied sarcastically.

"Werewolves and vampires have not always loathed each other so. It is a complicated tangle of oaths and broken promises. But seems to have diminished and hatred seems only to survive in small sects. I harbour no ill intent against any for what he or she is. That happens to include demons" she finished a little breathless. "And as you may have gathered, our intentions were simply to aide the weary traveller you were portraying, not to begin a moral argument that neither of us are able to win, for let's face it....We are and will be who we are".

Pacing the room her arms folded across her chest she said, "Out of all who gather here, Fearno has been the first to extend a hand of friendship and he is a newcomer with no real need to be here. Who could depise someone who will help another with no motive?" she asked Bane. "far be it from me to judge someone by their heritage, inherited or later generated".

The Prisoners of Moonloch Castle

#40

"No one said anything about you being a particular but your lack of imagination is evident. Not all our powers are mystical or magical, the fact is you stink of demon blood. You reek of fear and you are starting to edge on my limit of paitence, if you really want to see what happens to fools around here then continue on your present course, and you can see a real werewolf in action." I spoke irriatated the halfling could not get over the fact we were creatures of the dark, he was a foulsome little whose father the earth had to suffer the indignation of walking upon it's ground.

"It takes little for one who has experiance to see what you are. Lucky for you I've had my fill of demonic flesh for tonight. If you haven't noticed we actually let you, gave you a warm blanket, and the Lady suffers both our presences in her chamber. Edicit seems to have been dropped in the new breed." I smiled at Hunter and wrapped the blanket around my waist, I wouldn't be able to sleep as a human. I let my self sit down on the automon letting out an exasperated sigh, I eyed Bane watching for his riposte.